The Blue Rose Princess
by Love Remedy
Summary: Up for adoption. Christian and Rose Ozera have been outcasts since their parents voluntarily turned Strigoi thirteen years ago. The incident caused both of them to close off their hearts and have trouble depending on others. Will they be able to move on and find love?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or any of its characters.**

**AN: Hey, everyone! This is my first fanfic ever. Tell me what you think. Advice is always helpful and appreciated.  
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Prologue

Their story begins where life as they knew it ended...

"Rose!"

A little blue eyed girl spun around, clutching something tightly to her chest, and looked in the direction her name was called. A beautiful raven-haired young woman came towards Rose, then knelt in front of her so they were eye-level.

"You had me worried for a minute there," Tasha sighed, relieved to have found her niece before she got hurt. "What are doing out here, Rose?"

"Auntie Tasha! Look at this," Rose exclaimed, revealing what was in her clasped hands. It was a fully bloomed, deep blue rose. Rose's mother, Moira loved the flower so she had gardens full of different types and colors. Tasha had never seen this particular version of the flower before; blue roses couldn't be made naturally, but it was Rose's favorite color and she had asked her mother repeatedly for this rose. They must have found a way, Tasha mused silently, leading Rose back towards the warm house. Everyone in the family went through great lengths to spoil the small girl.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, Rose immediately went in search of her older brother, Christian.

Tasha felt more at ease now that they were safely back in her brother's house. Call it woman's intuition, but she had a feeling that something was wrong tonight. She couldn't figure out what it was though, so she was being extra cautious. Tasha didn't want to let the kids out of her sight until the bad feeling past.

She belatedly followed the sound of Rose's footsteps until she found both of them, sitting in front of the fireplace in the living room. Rose was excitedly showing Christian her new treasure when she walked in. Both look up at her, she was always struck with how similar they were; same deep black hair, milky white skin, and winter blue eyes. They even had the same smile which, just now, was in full force. They really were adorable kids, sometimes she wanted to just take them home with her and keep them. She smiled softly and joined them on the rug, together they marveled over Rose's unique find.

Hours had past when there was a knock at the door. She looked at the clock across the room. It would be dawn in a few hours, why would someone be knocking at the door at this time? The family's guardians would have just come in if they really needed to talk to her. She looked back to her niece and nephew. Rose was already fast asleep, leaning heavily against her brother and clutching the blue rose in her tiny right fist. Christian was barely awake, stoking his sister's hair soothingly, eyes drooping drowsily, but he snapped into alertness at the knock. He probably thought it was his Mom and Dad, but Lucas and Moira had said they wouldn't be home until a few days from now.

Tasha exited the living room and headed down the hall until she reached the front door. The bad feeling she had felt all day suddenly spiked and she was suddenly sure whatever was on the other side of the door was the cause. Dread and fear filled her so completely that it made her nauseous. It couldn't be anything dangerous though, right? The guardians would have taken care of it, it was what they were there for. The terror kept her from believing her own logic, but she reach a trembling hand to open the door, anyway. Once the door was halfway open she could see who was on her brother's doorstep.

Relief flowed through her as recognized the features of her brother and his wife. The relief, however, was quickly replaced by horror as she fully took in their appearance. Skin too pale for even a Moroi, blood smeared mouths, red ringed eyes, and the cold, cruel expressions on their faces. Strigoi.

"Hello, sister," Lucas smiled, maliciously. "Aren't you going to invited us in?"

Tasha paled and quickly slammed the door shut. She fumbled with the locks on the door, hoping it would at least slow them down, if not hold them. She leaned against the door trying and failing to steady her legs. She heard an odd cracking sound and let a out a yelp when an arm broke through the door just to the left of her head. She moved forward shakily to avoid the reading appendage, but it had retracted. She slowly backed up, not wanting to turn her back to the _things_ Lucas and Moira had become, but knowing she needed to protect Christian and Rose.

That thought hit her like a punch in the gut. Christian and Rose, who were so young and defenseless. She turned around and sprinted as hard as she could on her unsteady legs toward her niece and nephew. She entered the living room just as the screeching of metal tearing came from behind her, and she knew they were inside. While she had been gone Christian and Rose had moved to the corner of the room on the right side of the fireplace. She quickly went over to them and stood protectively in front of them.

Lucas and Moira entered the room soon after, all that could be heard was the small crackling of the flame in the fireplace. She was just thankful that neither Christian nor Rose went rushing over to their "parents," maybe they sensed something was wrong with them on some subconscious level.

"Tasha that was rude, locking us out of our own home," Moira's voice was the same sugary sweet tone she had when she was alive, but as a Strigoi had an edge of ice in it. "We even came home early, just to see our children."

"No," Tasha's voice sounded strangled even to her own ears. "I won't let you take them." She knew she couldn't hold them off for long by herself. Where were the guardians? Surely they had heard the racket by now.

"You could join us as well, Tasha, then we'll all be a family, again," Lucas said, smiling persuasively.

"Do you really think that's tempting? I'm not eating innocents people for immortality," Tasha replied. The fake-pleasant smiles fell off of Moira and Lucas's faces. "That's why you did it, right? So you could live forever?"

"The reasoning doesn't matter now. What's done is done," Lucas said, coldly. They weren't pretending to be normal anymore. "What you are doing is foolish. You can hardly hold us off, Tasha. We already killed the guardians, before even alerting you of our presence, there's no one to help you."

That's why she hadn't seen the guardians all night, even when going outside to retrieve Rose, they'd already been dead. She felt a chill slide down her back. "Then I will fight until my last breath."

"Good," Moira smiled widely, flashing her fangs. "It's more fun this way."

Lucas sighed, slightly disappointed. "We'll have to make it fast, one of the guardians got to call for back-up before I killed him."

They moved so fast she could barely see their movements, but she knew what their goal was: to take Rose and Christian. She just have to keep them safe until the guardians came and everything would be okay, even if she died in the process.

The fight was a blur. All she was aware of was kicking and hitting and using her fire magic, anything she could to keep them away from their targets. Even though she was trying her best, she could feel the pain screaming through her body with each blow they landed on her. She could hear them hissing whenever her flame came to close to them for comfort. She remembered screaming when something dug into her cheek, when the white-hot pain licked through her nerves and the blood gushed down her face.

She didn't know how long it was before the other guardians arrived. It felt like hours to her abused body, but was probably really minutes. They killed the Strigoi so fast, so easily. She felt so helpless. She'd almost died, Rose and Christian had almost been taken. She looked over at her nephew and niece. Christian was sitting in front of Rose and holding her to him protectively. His face was oddly blank as he looked at his parent's dead profiles. Rose was crying silently and crushing the rose that was still in her hand. Both of them had had unmasked fear in their eyes. Tasha sank down to her knees in front of them and clutched them to her as hard as she could. Tears and drops of blood for her cheek stained Rose's semi-crushed blue flower. She knew things would never be the same again as she held her newly orphaned niece and nephew.

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**AN: Phew! Prologue done. Thanks to everybody that took the time to read this :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or any of its characters.**

**AN: Thanks so much to everyone who read, reviewed, and favorited my story! Love you, guys! My goal was to get this updated before my 17th birthday on Dec. 3rd. So I'm pretty happy that I made my deadline, otherwise you guys might have had to wait until Sunday or Monday for an update. Anyway, for most of the actual chapters, the point of view will mainly be switched between Christian and Rose, since it is their story after all. Though I might add a Dimitri one later on, if you ask nicely. I also have another story idea in the making, but I want to get this one going first. Now that my announcements are done, on with chapter 1! ~ ARD**

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Chapter 1

Thirteen Years Later...

Rose's Point of View

Almost getting punched in the face when you're barely awake is not a good way start any day. Though I must say it's better than _actually_ getting hit in the face would have been, which is purely thanks to superior Moroi reflexes.

In our world there are two kinds of vampires. The Moroi who are mortal, specialize in one of the four elements, and drink blood without killing; and the Strigoi who are evil, undead creatures who kill the victims they feed off. Since neither vampire was a fan of sunlight, they tended to live nocturnally. There are also dhampirs who are half-human, half-Moroi and might one day grow up to be guardians. A guardian who will be trained to guard their assigned Moroi and kill Strigoi.

Aunt Tasha, Christian, and I are Ozeras, which is one of the twelve royal Moroi families.

A lot has happened since that fateful day thirteen years ago. Our Aunt Tasha had practically raised my brother, Christian and I since the day our parents were murdered, after turning Strigoi by choice. That day, Tasha also decided that she shouldn't have to rely so heavily on guardians for protection. So she learned how to fight both with martial arts and using her magic offensively. Once my brother and I were old enough, we followed her lead. This is normally considered unnatural or even taboo among Moroi, but both Christian and I believe that being able to defend ourselves can only help us survive as a race.

Tasha has taught martial arts classes for a while now and always gets a wide variety of people who attend them - other idealistic Moroi, young dhampirs on break from the Academy, and even the occasional human. Sometimes when the actual matches get started people will challenge Christian or me, even though neither of us are technically taking the classes. In previous years, Christian had taken a few classes of martial arts, but was never really interested in it, so he usually only spars with me after I beg him to. He was always more involved in using his magic as a weapon. I, on the other hand, was always interested in the different types of fighting styles. By the time I turned fourteen, I knew the proper techniques to use with a bladed weapon, how to safely load and fire a gun, and had earned a black belt in karate. I even asked a few dhampir novices that traveled through to show me some moves.

Which brings us back to the here and now. An abnormally obnoxious human had asked me for a match last week, and had said not to worry, he'd "go easy on me" because I'm a girl. So he hadn't been very pleased when I'd kicked his ass. Today he'd asked for a rematch and I accepted. Unfortunately, he figured the only way to beat me was by cheating. Which was probably true, but it was seriously going to hurt if he actually manages to land one of his hits. He might not of been smart or very skilled, but he was easily twice my size and probably had three times as much muscle mass. I was on the defense, dodging or countering his blows waiting for him to make a mistake. It wasn't a very long wait, as I said before, he wasn't very intelligent.

He went for a gut punch, a pretty good move, if it follows through, since it doesn't have bone to protect it. People who aren't used to working through the pain will be distracted from the shock of the strike, just long enough for you to administer a "killing" blow, and win the fight. However I dodged it just as I had all his previous cheap shots. Only this time I clamped a hand around his wrist so he couldn't pull it back. I smirked up at him as his conceited expression morphed to confusion and surprise. Using his arm for leverage, I twisted my body so I could angle a swift kick to his temple. I didn't do it hard enough to harm him, other than maybe a bruise, but it would knock him out. I released his arm as he immediately collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

I turned away as his classmates from around the room swarmed around his prone figure. Some of the onlookers were making sure he was okay; others, mostly guys, were staring at me like I was goddess and they were my worshipers. It wasn't anything new, when you had badass fighting skills and a pretty face like I did, you got used to the stares. Usually I reveled in the attention, but tonight Aunt Tasha had said she wanted to talk to us. Christian and I had come back to visit Tasha in New York for summer break, but with it coming to an end, we would be expected to go back to the Academy in Montana for our senior year. For once I wanted to actually make it back to Tasha's on time.

Of course, by the time I reached to Tasha's house, I was late. I walked in and found them preparing dinner in the kitchen. Tasha and Christian were talking quietly, their backs to me so they hadn't noticed me, yet. I crept stealthily up to them, close enough that I could touch them, but not close enough for them to feel my body heat and alert them of my presence.

I leaned a little farther in, just so they could get that neck-hair-raising sense of something behind you. "Boo," I whispered in their ears.

They both jumped slightly in surprise and whirled to face me, prepared for an attack. I laughed at their reaction and they relaxed as they recognized me. Tasha smiled, shook her head, then laugh good-naturedly. Christian mock-glared, sighed, and ran a hand through his already messy black hair.

"How nice of you to grace us with your presence," he said, dryly.

I punched him gently on the arm. "I wouldn't want to disappoint you with my absence. You know you can't live without a daily dose of this awesome-ness." I said, gesturing to myself. "People get addicted to my company, I wouldn't want to deprive you of it."

Christian chuckled under his breath. "Yeah, that must be why I tolerate you. Going through Rose withdrawals would be a bitch," he teased.

"That they would, more so than I am. What's for dinner?" I asked, eying the pile of meat on the counter, warily. Aunt Tasha and Christian were pretty good cooks, but I don't even think they knew what meal to make with three different types of meat.

"Meatloaf," Tasha responded, smiling at me when I wrinkled my nose slightly. When she smiled, our similarities were even more apparent. The same heart-shaped face, glossy full lips, sleek black hair, and big crystal blue eyes. Had we been the same age, we could be considered twins. Of course there was some variation in our appearances. My hair was longer, flowing down to my hips, while hers ended in the middle of her back. She was tall, graceful, and willowy. I was fine-boned, deceptively fragile-looking, but with a voluptuous figure and an ample bust, that were rare among Moroi. The main difference though were the scars that marred my aunt's left cheek. It didn't deter from her beauty, rather it just made it her pretty in a different way, but the mark was a reminder to us all about the past we tried so hard to distance ourselves from.

"Oh man, that's got to be the most stereotypical vampire food, ever. We're not eating it raw, are we?" I asked, sarcastically.

"Only if that's your preference," Christian replied. Tasha just put the wad of meat into the oven and we continued to small talk until the meatloaf was done. I couldn't help, but notice the distracted look on Christian face during the whole conversation, like he was deep in thought about something. It wasn't like Christian to zone out, that was usually me, unless he had something extremely important on his mind. Tasha was acting odd as well. She had said she needed to discuss something with us before Christian and I had to go back to the Academy tomorrow. Aunt Tasha was a very straightforward person so I was surprised she hadn't already brought the topic up. It was so unlike her and my anxiety was building the longer she procrastinated. It must be more important and unpleasant than I had originally thought.

When all of us were done eating, we still sat at the table waiting for Tasha's announcement.

"Are you two looking forward to starting school again at the Academy?" Tasha asked. That seemed to snap Christian out of whatever daze he'd been in, he turned his head to face her direction, his face incredulous. I'm pretty sure the look on my face echoed his, perfectly.

"Um no. Not really. The classes are always boring, especially the political crap. It's not like I care about that stuff, and it will only get worse once we graduate because we'll be a part of it," I complained.

Christian finally spoke up. "Not to mention how horrible the people there are. Though the other royals are by far the worst. Bunch of spoiled, prissy bastards." Aunt Tasha shot him a chastising glare for his foul language. He shrugged, but continued. "The other Moroi wouldn't be so bad if they didn't follow the royals like a flock of sheep."

"Well, at least you're seniors, this year you two graduate," Aunt Tasha said, trying to get us excited.

"Yeah, a whole year of people waiting for one of us, if not both, to turn Strigoi and start eating them," I said, chuckling bitterly.

All of us were quiet for a minute after that. The words still hung heavily in the air, making the tension in the room thick. Then Tasha sighed, finally breaking the suffocating silence. The tension in the room shifted a little but didn't diminish. She was finally done avoiding the subject she had wanted us here for in the first place.

"I have a friend who is going to be helping around the Academy this year. He'll be looking out for you," Tasha began. Something about her tone made me suspicious.

"This friend of yours wouldn't happen to be a guardian, would he?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in mute accusation. So this is what she'd been avoiding. She knew I'd be pissed. Tasha stayed silent and avoided looking at me. That was all the answer I needed. "Aunt Tasha! What was the point of all my training if your making me have a guardian anyway? What about all of your speeches of Moroi fighting back. I don't need to hide behind a guardian!"

"It will help keep you safe and I trust him, Rose," she finally said, meeting my eyes. "He would protect you with his life regardless of our 'undesirable connections.'"

"Then assign him to Christian. Or any other Moroi, I don't care. I don't want or need a guardian to protect me."

"Rosemarie," Tasha said, her voice still calm and gentle, if not a little tired. Tasha only used my full name when she was dead-serious. "Your martial art skills are amazing, as is your swordsmanship, but you wouldn't see a Strigoi coming by yourself until it was already too late. And since you haven't specialized you don't have enough power in any of the elements to do damage to a Strigoi."

Ouch. That was a low blow. My having not specialized was a touchy subject and she knew it. Every Moroi had a little control over each element, but when you specialized in one, which usually happened when you were fifteen or sixteen, you could do significantly more with that element. Since I had yet to specialize I could only do the basics of each element. Part of me wanted to say something nasty back to her, but I knew I'd only regret it later if I did. Instead I just stood up and stalked away, toward my room.

"Rose, please just give him a chance," Tasha's voice was quiet and pleading. I felt like as total bitch and wanted to apologize, but my pride was in the way. So I just threw a "Whatever" over my shoulder, entered my room, and slammed the door behind me.

The room should technically be considered a guest room and not my room, because I only used it when we visited Tasha during breaks, four times a year. But I'd had this room ever since Tasha moved here and it felt like _my_ room, more than any of the dorms I had occupied for years on end at the St. Vladimir's, anyway.

The walls were painted a dark blue and there were random splashes of silver to make it look like stars in a night sky. It was kind of ironic since we actually slept during daylight hours. There was a small wooden bookshelf and a mirror that had belonged to my mother. A walk-in closet to left of the door and a desk with a laptop on it to the right. My favorite piece of furniture though, was my bed. It was a king-size canopy bed, much bigger than the ones at the Academy and it was _so _soft. I walked over to it and flopped down onto the silken sheets, before burying my face in the matching pillows.

I don't know how much time had past when I felt the bed slump down, alerting me of someone else's presence. I hadn't even heard them come in, maybe Aunt Tasha was right, I needed to be more aware of my surroundings or I would be no competition for a Strigoi.

I turned my head to face the intruder so I to check who it was. I saw, with no real surprise, that it was Christian. We might bicker and tease each other, but we had a lot closer relationship than most siblings. Maybe that was due to the fact that everyone outside our family thought that one day we were going to snap and become soulless monsters.

I sighed and sat up, looking at him expectantly. He wouldn't be here if he didn't want to talk and there was really no point in ignoring him.

"She didn't mean it the way it sounded," Christian said. "She doesn't think your weak or anything. Having a guardian is just an extra precaution."

"I know," I answered. "It's just that you and Tasha don't have any guardians, so why do I suddenly need one so bad?"

Christian shrugged. "No clue, but I'm sure she has her reasons. Don't be so rough on her. She's only doing what she thinks is best for us."

"Yeah," I sighed. "You're right."

"I usually am," he said as he slung an arm around my shoulders, pulled me towards him, then proceeded to ruffle my hair like a little kid's.

"Hey! Stop it, you dork," I laughed as I tried to swat away his hand and straighten my hair. It felt good to genuinely laugh, the moments when it happened were so few and far between that it was a downright novelty.

Christian noticed, of course and his eyes softened. "We should do something fun before we have to go to St. Vlad's. I think I know just the thing," he said, walking towards my nightstand and opening the second drawer.

"Hmmm? What's that?" I asked, leaning forward, trying to remember what I put in that drawer. He pulled out my favorite weapon.

It was a custom-made dagger, that Tasha got me for my birthday a couple years ago. It was pure silver, since that metal had the most negative effect against Strigoi. The thin, straight blade was no longer than my forearm. Our family name was engraved on the flat side of the blade. But my favorite feature was the blue rose made of sapphires and aquamarines at the base of the blade. It would work the same as silver stakes the dhampirs used to kill Strigoi, but I would need to charm it first for it to be fully effective.

Christian slashed the dagger sloppily through the air and made a few silly stabbing motions, before handing it over to me. "Let's go practice some in the combat room, okay?"

I was a little shocked. I usually had to beg or blackmail him to get him to do any kind of martial arts practice with me. It was obvious he just wanted to cheer me up before we had to go back to the Academy, where this year, a guardian would be stalking my every move. Regardless, I didn't hesitate in dragging him to the practice room. I didn't want him to change his mind and this opportunity might not ever present itself again, so I was going to take advantage of it.

Practice was full of laughs, taunts, pushing our limits, and learning new techniques. I showed Christian how to fight better physically and Christian in turn taught me how to hone my magic. I even got a ball of blue fire to dance across my hand before it disappeared without a trace. Not as good as if I had specialized, but it was an improvement I was proud of.

By the time we were done, I had beat him at ever round of sparring and swordplay. He didn't seem to mind, and even though I knew he trained himself physically way less than me, winning still put me in a good mood. I even felt that tomorrow wouldn't be so bad despite our having to return to St. Vladimir's, deal with annoying royals, and my newly appointed guard dog. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking.

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**AN: I know some of you are probably like "Where's Dimitri?" Don't worry he's in the next chapter. So a few reviewers asked if this was going to be a DimitriXRose fanfic. The answer is, I'm not positive, yet. Though I think I'm going to end up doing a love triangle between Rose, Adrian, and Dimitri, like in the books. This is one of the few series where I actually liked both of the main character's love interests. But I was wondering how readers of **_**The Blue Rose Princess**_** feel about it. (Even though I have a pretty good idea from previous reviews.) Should Rose fall in love with Dimitri or Adrian? And should Lissa be a Spirit user or specialized in a different element? Tell me your opinions, I'd love to hear them. Also feel free to ask any questions you have about the story. I'll answer them as best as I can, without giving out spoilers. I'll update as soon as I can. Thanks for all of your help and encouragement! ~ Aurora Rose Dragomir  
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	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or any of its characters.**

**AN: Hello readers! A special thank you to all the reviewers who shared your opinions with me. Sorry it took so long to update. I'm one of those people who really just cannot write unless I have active interest in the series I'm writing for. So if I write a story about a certain book series it usually means I'm rereading the books so I get more inspiration. Anyway, thanks to everyone for being so patient for me to update, I really appreciate it. Also, I finished **_**Last Sacrifice **_**and I must say that is was amazing, though the ending was bittersweet, it was still a very good read. Warning: Some upcoming chapters may contain spoilers, proceed with caution. Enjoy! ~ ARD**

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Chapter 2

Rose's Point of View

The flight to Montana was uneventful. Christian and I were in the first class section, I sat in the seat closest to the window while he took the one by the aisle. Christian and I talked occasionally about nothing in particular, while avoiding any topics related to our returning to the Academy or my new guardian, who I knew nothing about, other than he was a friend of Tasha's. Both of us ignored the idiotic complementary video that was being shown. Christian people watched the entire flight-a habit he tended to execute no matter what environment he was in-examining the other passengers like one might secretly be a Strigoi or something. Not likely, though I guess it wasn't impossible either. I just stared out the window as New York disappeared and new sceneries played through my view.

Aunt Tasha had offered to go with us, like she had when we first started attending at the Academy, but we had declined. There was really no point in her flying all the way to the school just to immediately travel back to New York, especially since we were older now. So we had said our goodbyes at the airport. Along with the farewells I had also apologized to Tasha, not wanting us to part on a bad note. She was one of few people who I actually trusted and despite me not agreeing with her decision, I knew she only had my best interests at heart. Though I was still far from happy about her going behind my back and assigning a guardian to me, friend of hers or not.

About three and a half tedious hours later we finally landed. I had to sigh in relief, even though that meant we were that much closer to being back at the Academy. I might not hate flying, but it was too monotonous for someone like me, who always felt the need to be doing something productive.

As soon as we exited the airplane I noticed them immediately. Two guardians, I vaguely recognized them from school, standing eerily still and scanning the area for us and any possible threats. They were obviously there to escort us safely back to the Academy. Whether to protect us from Strigoi or ensure we didn't make a run for it, I wasn't sure. If I were to wager though, I would bet on the latter, I was known to do some crazy stunts. Like running away from any form of authority, even at the cost of my own safety. Which was probably why Tasha got a guardian assigned to me in the first place.

I looked for possible escape routes, just to see if making a run for it was still an option, but there weren't many. The guardians were blocking the main doors and the only other door that led outside was the fire exit, which would inevitably set off an alarm if opened. It didn't really matter anyway, the guardians had already spotted us and were heading over. There was no point in trying to evade them, even with my training I wouldn't be able to outrun a dhampir.

In a blur of activity that I couldn't fully process, the guardians had retrieved our luggage and were flanking us on either side, as we exited the airport's lobby. I sighed in defeat, it was too late to do anything about it now. Even I couldn't put up much of a struggle against a fully trained guardian. We followed them until I caught the familiar sight of the Academy issued transportation, a van. I know, lame, right? However what I was not expecting were the people waiting beside the vehicle.

It wasn't unusual for the Academy to send guardians to pick up Moroi, especially royals that didn't have any appointed guardians. In the past there were usually a few who would usher us back to school grounds when we came with Tasha. The difference lied in the fact that before there were one or maybe two of them, at the most. Now there were almost a dozen guardians here just to escort two disgraced royals from an airport to St. Vladimir's. Even the queen herself didn't travel with that many at any given time.

Some of the guardians I recognized from the Academy, others I had never seen before, which only furthered the oddity of them being there. One man in particular stood out the most. He was one of the unfamiliar guardians, probably in his mid-twenties. He was very tall, at least a foot over my five-foot-seven, with dark eyes, and brown hair that was tied back from his face. Under different circumstances, I would say he was hot, but I had a feeling this guy was going to be the appointed bad news bringer.

The tall man stepped forward and swept a bow that was surprisingly graceful considering his height. "Lord Ozera, Lady Rosemarie. We are here to ensure your safe return back to the Academy." He had a slight Russian accent, but it was his words that bothered me. Gah. If there was anything I hated more than the thought of having a guardian it was being called by my full name or royal titles. I wondered if he knew that and was using them purposely just to annoy me. Royal Moroi didn't usually get addressed by their royal title until they were considered a legal adult at eighteen.

"My name is Rose," I said curtly, not bothering with politeness. I narrowed my eyes at him, sizing him up and calculating my odds against him. Admittedly, they weren't looking very good. "And who exactly are you?"

He didn't seem fazed by my rudeness, someone must have warned him about my attitude. His dark eyes focused on me, as he answered. "My name is Dimitri Belikov. I will be your personal guardian from now on."

No freaking way. _Damn_ it! What was I supposed to do now? It was too late to run and he looked like the kind of guy who could stop me anyway, even if I had a head start. Why did I have to get stuck with one of the super serious guardians? It was going to be a pain to get anything done with him shadowing my every move.

"You have got to be kidding me," I chuckled, bitterly. I wasn't about to play nice just because he was good-looking or Tasha's friend. If he was going to be my permanent guardian he was going to have to get acquainted with my inner bitchiness eventually. I suppose if he couldn't deal with me, it would end up working in my favor, anyway. "My aunt hired foreign labor to protect me?"

"Rose," Christian said, reprovingly. It wouldn't surprise me if he already knew what I was up to. He usually did. He came and clenched my shoulder, just short of it being painful, an obvious warning. "Enough."

Than he turned to address Dimitri himself. "Sorry about my sister, she's just in a bit a bad mood. And I would prefer you call me Christian."

"Very well," Dimitri said. "We should get moving, then. Don't want to be late." His face had been completely relaxed throughout the entire conversation, even when I had insulted him. I recognized it, though. A lot of dhampir had what I had come to refer as a "guardian mask" that they wore while on duty, they never showed their reactions and as a very outspoken person it had always annoyed me.

I opened my mouth to comment on how he could _bite me_ and I wasn't going to move of my own free will when one of the other guardians stepped forward. This one I actually knew. Alberta Petrov. She was an older dhampir, maybe in her fifties, but she was one of few people that had actually earned my respect throughout my years at the Academy.

"Rose," she addressed me, and I automatically felt like straightening my back or something in reflex at the authority in her tone. "We need to leave. Would you please get inside the vehicle so we can get to the Academy before nightfall?" As soon as she was finished all eyes locked on me, expectantly, including my brother's. My mouth thinned to a straight, hard line as I glared acidly at everyone before entering the soccer-mom van.

Once everyone was loaded into the van we set off. Somehow we were arranged so Christian and I sat across from each other with a guardian on either side of us. I recognized one of guardians flanking Christian as Stan Alto. He was in his late twenties and was notorious for being a jerk to the dhampir novices. I was stuck between Alberta and Dimitri. Go figure. Maybe they thought I would try to jump out of the car even when they started moving. The option was looking better and better admittedly. Road burn had to be better than this. But since it wasn't a real choice I opted for stared blankly out the back window, watching the different landscapes flash by and trying to ignore the presence of multiple guardians surrounding me.

I could tell we were getting closer as the houses and buildings thinned, then disappeared altogether, until only layers of trees and other vegetation could be seen through any of the windows. This only made the Academy seem more out of place because of the lack of any other type of civilization to be found for miles out.

When St. Vladimir's Academy finally came into view it was dusk, which meant that the vampiric day was only just beginning. The Academy looked exactly the same as it always did. The buildings that were spread out on campus gave it an almost college feel, but students were given way less freedom than people who attended regular universities. The architecture had always reminded me of Gothic-styled cathedrals, with its high peaks and stone carvings. All of the Academies were modeled after the original schools back in Europe. Moroi were big on tradition; which was just another reason Tasha, Christian, and I, who believed Moroi should help fight back against Strigoi, weren't accepted by other royals.

Now, as we as we approached the Academy's wrought iron gates, my stomach seized with anxiety, the same claustrophobic feeling I always got when I first entered Academy grounds. The gates always seemed to cage you inside after you entered.

The guardians who were assigned to protect the gates took extra care to examine us thoroughly. Never mind the SWAT team of guardians that surrounded us and the fact that the undead wouldn't be able to pass the wards. They needed to use the extra time to be _positive_ we weren't Strigoi. It kind of made me want to punch them in the face, though I restrained myself, barely. But afterward, I couldn't resisted smiling at them widely enough to flash my fangs and had the enjoyment of watching one of them shudder slightly before a hand clamped on my arm and dragged me through the gates. I looked up and met the identical eyes of my brother, his eyes clearly saying "behave yourself, if you can." I sighed agitated again at me reprimanded by someone not even a year older than me and jerked my arm out of his grip, moving forward without his arm guiding me like I was toddler or something. Then proceeded to take in the familiar surroundings that I had not seen in months.

It felt strange being here after living the past weeks with Tasha in New York. New York was always bustling with people and traffic, and you inhaled more exhaust fumes than you did air. In Montana each breath you took was cool, pure, and unpolluted. Though that was to be expected. We were after all miles away from anything even resembling civilization. Which made chances of escaping without some kind of transportation very slim. Even if by some miracle we did manage it they would search for us and drag us back to the Academy eventually.

I was taken out of my musing by the familiar faces of my friends shouting at me, waving, and practically dancing in impatience for me to join them from where they were across the grounds. I laughed slightly and felt lighter that I had all day seeing their friendly faces that were genuinely happy to see me. I started walking towards them, hand raised to wave back. I could sense at least two people following me, but since I was positive I knew who they were, decided to ignore them. My happiness however was interrupted quickly by a loud piercing screech.

"Rosemarie Ozera!"

I winced as the banshee shriek grated against my eardrum, then sighed. Welcome back to hell.

* * *

**AN: Finally got this chapter done, thank God! Thanks to everyone that stuck around for my rather slow update and I hope it was worth the wait. I think next chapter is gonna be in Christian's perspective. Anyway... I have answered some readers' questions below. There may be possible spoilers so if want it to be a surprise skip this part. Please continue to ask questions if anything confuses you and I will try and answer them in the next update.**

**1. How much older is Christian than Rose?**

**Christian is about 7 or so months older than Rose. Their mother had back to back pregnancies. Rose was born prematurely, but with no severe health problems. Christian was born toward the end of August so he's already 18. Rose was born on March 27, so she's still 17.**

**2. Is Rose supposed to be the Ozera family princess?**

**Rose can't be the princess of the Ozera family. According to the book the prince/princess of each of the royal families is its oldest member. That would definitely not be Rose. There is a lot of older members of the Ozera family, including Tasha, it's just that a lot of them want nothing to do with her or Christian after their parents turned Strigoi. I don't think any of her relatives would voluntarily choose her to be eligible for the throne. The title of the story will make more sense as the story progresses.**

**3. Is Rose specializing in spirit? **

**Yes, Rose will be a Spirit user. In the series her being shadow-kissed and taking Lissa's darkness is a big part of the story, so I wanted to give her the element that causes the crazy in the first place. **

**~ Aurora Rose Dragomir**


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